The Walk: In my previous walk, I got as far as East Tilbury Station. In this walk, I continued along the England Coast Path (ECP) to Pitsea Station, taking in a circuit of the Mucking Marshes (reclaimed after land fill), the Essex Wildlife Trust Visitor Centre at the Thameside Nature Park, the Stanford Wharf and RSPB Vange Marsh Nature Reserves and Fobbing Marsh (notable for the Fobbing Horse Moveable Flood Barrier). The gantries of the DP World London Gateway container port provide a backdrop for much of the walk, dramatic or satanic, according to your taste.
 |
| Crane gantries, London Gateway Port |
Route
NB The map shows my route, with various diversions and excursions which you may not wish to follow precisely. You can download the Google map info, as a KML/KMZ file, then convert to GPX using a site like GPS Visualiser. ORANGE line: main walk. BLUE line: official ECP route past London Gateway Port (I went across Fobbing Marsh). PURPLE line: possible route to Stanford-le-Hope Station.
The ECP starts alongside Gobions Park, right opposite East Tilbury Station. The ECP is generally a well signed, well made path around the inland perimeter of the Mucking land fill site, passing the Golden Gates Lakes and following the freight railway which serves the port, before, close to the village of Mucking, heading back down to the Thames Estuary shore. There is an optional excursion to the excellent Visitor Centre at the Thameside Nature Park, after which the path finally lives up to its COASTAL name by following the shore of the Stanford Wharf Nature Reserve. The DP World London Gateway port prevents access to the coast, hence the ECP heads on a bridleway cross country to Corringham, crossing the approach road to the Port on a purpose built footbridge.
The official ECP then uses the pavement for some two miles beside the Manorway main road along the the port perimeter, then heads up a track to the Fobbing Horse Flood Barrier on Hole Haven Creek (BLUE line on map). This looked rather dull, so instead I reached the barrier more directly by 'climbing' to the village of Fobbing then descending to join the footpath along a dyke across Fobbing Marsh. The ECP then follows the embankment of the Hole Haven Creek and later Vange Creek. (See 'Challenges' for a slight complication in re-joining the ECP.)
At this point, the path takes a circuitous route across fields to reach a business park alongside the railway and A13. Pass around this on a rather overgrown path, then slog on along an access track beside the busy elevated road to reach Pitsea Station.
Why do it?
Before leaving East Tilbury, it is worth heading a half mile down the road to see the surviving modernist buildings from the Bata shoe factory. The Czech entrepeneur Thomas Bata established the factory here in the 1930s together with a 'model village' for the workforce. There are several factory blocks, and streets of flat roofed art deco style housing. There is a heritage exhibition in the library, if you can catch it open.
 |
| One of the Bata factory buildings in East Tilbury |
The Mucking Marsh was originally a massive land fill site. It has now been reclaimed, and achieved SSSI status. (I heard a nightingale singing beside the railway.) The reserve is managed for Thurrock Council by the Essex Wildlife Trust. There is an excellent Visitor Centre with Cafe overlooking the Mucking Flats mudflats in the Estuary, and the crane gantries of the DP World London Gateway Port, which dominate the skyline impressively for most of the walk. Their baby brother gantries which unloaded the land fill rubbish are still in place.
 |
| Visitor Centre, Thameside Nature Park |
The Stanford Reserve was created with 'offset' funding from DP World. Fields were flooded to create mudflats, and the site now attracts waders and wildfowl. This is really the only truly Coastal part of this walk along this bit of the ECP.
 |
| Stanford Wharf Nature Reserve (London Gateway in the background) |
Corringham and Fobbing are attractive villages, occupying high ground on an otherwise totally flat walk. Fobbing Church has an imposing tower which dominates the eponymous marsh. Fobbing takes pride in its role as the flashpoint for the Peasants' Revolt (1381).
 |
| Fobbing Church Tower |
In summer, when I did this walk, Fobbing Marsh seemed almost disappointingly dry, mostly reclaimed for pasture, with several herds of cattle grazing. In WW2, huge fires were lit on the Marsh to decoy German bombers away from the Thames Haven and Shell Haven oil refineries.
 |
| Fobbing Marsh, with ever-present cranes of London Gateway |
The massive Fobbing Flood Barrier on Hole Haven Creek was one of several built in the 1970s to protect Canvey Island from flooding. The adjacent land on the opposite bank is called 'Fobbing Horse'. Horse seems to be a local term for a hill, island or sandbank.
 |
| Fobbing Horse Flood Barrier |
RSPB Vange Reserve situated at the head of Vange/Pitsea Creek, has fresh- and salt water lagoons, for yet more more wildfowl and waders.
 |
| Entrance to Vange Marsh RSPB Reserve |
Logistics:
By train, between East Tilbury and Pitsea Stations (it's a direct line between them).
By car, there is free parking in the large car park at the War Memorial gardens in East Tilbury, about half a mile from the station, and pay parking at Pitsea Station. (Always check local signage for the latest parking rules and charges.)
 |
| At Pitsea Station |
Distance:
15 miles from station to station, including optional excursion to the Thameside Visitor Centre (about 1 mile roundtrip). Add 1 mile round trip if you park in East Tilbury, or make an excursion there to view the Bata buildings.
You could break the walk by heading to Stanford-le-hope Station, about a mile off route from Mucking Village (PURPLE line on map). That would make a short 4 mile walk from East Tilbury. Stanford-le-Hope Station to Pitsea would then be 13 miles.
Challenges:
This is one of those stretches of the ECP which is mainly inland. There is as yet no coastal access on Mucking Marshes (possibly might be in future?), and the DP London Gateway Port is out of bounds.
It's a long way. I enjoyed the first part up to the Fobbing Barrier, but the last part around Vange Creek and on to Pitsea did begin to drag a bit, perhaps not helped by the sky clouding over: the marshes are a bit bleak when the sun ain't shining. For much of the time, the path is below the embankment (there are 'keep off' signs) thus views over the salt marsh to the other side of the creek are limited.
 |
| Path goes below the embankment |
If you take the direct route across Fobbing Marsh, the path along the dyke is quite rough and overgrown, and the styles are in poor condition to start with. Also, you cannot join the official ECP route directly because it is on the other side of a drainage ditch. Follow that ditch until shortly there is a bridge across.
There were several herds of cattle on Fobbing Marsh, plus Beware of the Bull sings (I think there was a bull lurking in the corner of a field).
 |
| Beware of the Bull |
 |
| Bridge over port road |
 |
| Pastoral (this is cattle country) |
 |
| Bridleway to Corringham |
 |
| Tale care crossing the horrendously busy Manorway |
 |
| Corringham Church |
 |
| Corringham clapperboard house |
 |
| Grazing between Corringham and Fobbing |
 |
| White Lion, Fobbing |
 |
| White Lion interior |
 |
| Fobbing Church |
 |
| Fobbing church tower is a prominent landmark on the mashes |
 |
| The dyke across Fobbing Marsh was quite overgrown and rough, and that style was a bit flaky |
 |
| There are few signs on the Marsh |
 |
| There are lots of cattle, if you're nervous about that |
 |
| The going improves |
 |
| The Fobbing Horse Barrier comes into view |
 |
| This is where the direct path across the Marsh crosses a ditch to join the ECP at the barrier |
 |
| Fobbing Flood Barrier |
 |
| Looking back across the Marsh |
 |
| Upstream of the Barrier |
 |
| No right to roam here |
 |
| Dried churned mud indicates this might be heavy going after rain |
 |
| Pill box beside Hole Have Creek |
 |
| Part of the Marsh is Nature Reserve |
 |
| Keep off the sea wall |
 |
| Looking back over the Marsh: Barrier to the left, London Gateway to the right |
 |
| That was a bull, I think |
 |
| Path around the business park |
 |
| RSPB Vange Marsh |
 |
| Path beside flyover heading to Pitsea Station |
 |
| ECP is signed from Pitsea Station |
Comments
Post a Comment